RELIGION >Vatican denies any Cardinal a suspect in leaks scandal

The Vatican on Monday denied Italian press reports that a cardinal was among those being investigated in a scandal over leaked documents that has shaken the highest levels of the Roman Catholic Church.

Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi also told a news conference the Holy See would not allow media pressure to rush an investigation which has led to the arrest of Pope Benedict's butler over the leaks.

Lombardi said the pope was following the case closely but calmly and that talk of an internal power struggle behind the case had been exaggerated.

A lawyer for butler Paolo Gabriele, 46, said his client would cooperate with investigators who are trying to track down others suspected of leaking sensitive documents as part of a power struggle inside the Curia, or government of the Church.